Once upon a time I was a lawyer. Surrounded by towering case files of blue and green, a burgeoning task list to manage deadlines and hundreds of post-it notes.

I loved it. The stories, the people, the outcomes and yes, even the paperwork. There were clear pathways to follow for each case, documents to be filed at particular times. It was easy to keep ahead of the long deadlines scheduled for accident cases and I had an exceptional mentor.

We headed into battle on behalf of our clients – fighting with words and documents, with photographs and clever arguments. Reassuring those who delved but for a day or so into the world that we saw as normal, crying with those who had lost almost everything that they had thought was ‘them’.

I am lucky enough to still hang out with the girls that I spent hours each day with – hashing out problems and unforeseen twists, eyes wide with indignation when phone calls with the other side turned ugly. Now, we turn over the details of our lives – our parenting battles, marriage troubles, health issues.

And every time I see a post-it note, it all comes flooding back.

This post is part of the #Write31Days challenge that I’m participating in along with talented community of other writers. We free write for five minutes (or more) each day guided by a prompt. Today’s prompt is ‘post-it’. 

For more information on 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes, check out Christina Hubbard’s site!